Tell-tale Turds

Moving into a big brick house has been the adventure promised. Since July 3rd, I've learned the routes to several small markets, met several of the neighbors, and only locked myself out of my house once - on the 2nd day here! Generally I've figured out how to wash clothes in cold water, to run the electric pump for well water, and I had a phone and internet installed. I'm learning to cook with just one propane gas burner tank plus a one-temperature-for-everything oven. I usually don't heat water in the shower tank for doing dishes, but fill a tea kettle instead to get hot water for dishes. I've also started a compost pile in the corner of the garden.

The construction of this house is generally lacking finishes. By that I mean windows and doors don't fit snugly, the floors are wooden planks without covering, the walls and ceilings are unpainted, the concrete steps to the living level are uncovered, and there are electric wires sticking out of the walls where light fixtures should be. Two rooms on the second level are totally unfinished, that is, you can open a door to those rooms but you would see the dirt floor of the lower level through the floor joists.  

That lower level appears to be home to other creatures including spiders, swallows, pigeons and mice. The windows for the lower level have no window panes so heaven only knows what animals might come in from the cold in the next few months. Mice have been visiting my kitchen during the night according to the tell-tale turds I noticed. One morning I could hear scratching near my oven and discovered that a mouse had gotten stuck in the oven door. Too bad. I suppose I could have turned on the oven, but I refrained. I did, however, triple wrap my hands in plastic bags the next day to remove the little carcass.